1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to facsimile apparatuses, and more particularly to a facsimile apparatus which stores image data in a bulk storage device.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional well-known facsimile apparatus (abbreviated FAX hereinafter) comprises a scanner, an encoder/decoder, a plotter, a memory, and a line controller. The memory comprises a semiconductor storage device or a hard disk. The semiconductor storage device has a relatively small storage capacity, and the hard disk has a relatively large storage capacity. The scanner scans a predetermined image on a document to generate an image signal representing the predetermined image. The image signal is encoded into image data by the encoder/decoder. The image data is temporarily stored in the memory in a FAX when, for example, the FAX transmits an outgoing call to another FAX which is communicating with still another FAX. The plotter prints out the predetermined image on a paper.
However, the above FAX is disadvantageous in that images are searched, permanently preserved, arranged, and erased on every sheet of paper. Incidentally, the word "manage" includes all the meanings of the above words, such as searching, permanently preserving, arranging, and erasing, hereinafter.